Stafford sprained his right shoulder during the Sept. 12 season opener agains the Chicago Bears. Aside from some range-of-motion exercises, he hasn't tested the shoulder further on the advice of the Lions' medical staff.

"They've told me that I need to try to do some light throwing this week and see how it feels, and I'll kind of take it from there," Stafford said. "I'll throw a little bit probably tomorrow or the next day and see how it feels."

Stafford said there is no way to know how the joint will respond.

"It'll be interesting to see how it feels," he said. "Obviously, in the offseason, I'll probably go two weeks here and there without throwing the football. But it seems to come back to me pretty quick. But I'm also not dealing with an injury those times.

"For me, it's a whole new process. I've never really injured my throwing arm or anything like that. So I'm just taking it step by step, just trying to do what the doctors are telling me to do to get back as soon as I can."

Shaun Hill has started for the Lions (0-3) in Stafford's absence. Hill has completed 63 of 107 passes for 660 yards and three touchdowns with five interceptions since replacing Stafford midway through the opener.